SUPER BOWL XXXIV: RAMS VS. TITANS

SUPER BOWL XXXIV: RAMS VS. TITANS; Montana And Lott Lead Way Into Hall

By MIKE FREEMAN

Published: January 30, 2000

ATLANTA, Jan. 29—
It is easy to understand why Joe Montana and Ronnie Lott were such good friends, their closeness extending beyond winning four Super Bowls together with the San Francisco 49ers. They appreciated that both were perfectionists on the field. There were some practices in which Montana was quarterbacking and the football never hit the ground. If Lott blew a coverage scheme, it made the evening news.

More than 40,000 passing yards later for Montana and eight Pro Bowl games later at three different positions for Lott, the two men stood and hugged each other today after being told they had just been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

This was about as much of a mystery as the end of a ''Columbo'' rerun. Both were first-time nominees, and there was little doubt that they would be chosen. Montana may have been the best football player ever, and one could easily argue that Lott was the toughest and most skilled defensive back to play the game.

''The thing I'll most take from all my years -- and I was on some great teams,'' Montana said, ''but the thing I'll remember the most are my friendships.''

The Hall of Fame also added three other members. Two are the players Howie Long, who played 13 seasons with the Oakland Raiders and had 84 career sacks, and Dave Wilcox, who played 11 seasons with the 49ers and was considered by many to be the best outside linebacker of his day. Also voted in was the Pittsburgh owner Dan Rooney, one of the classiest men in football, who has spent 45 years in various capacities with the team. His father, Art, who died in 1988, entered the Hall of Fame in 1964.

The Hall of Fame panel consisted of 38 writers and broadcasters, and election required 80 percent of the vote. Inductions will take place July 29 in Canton, Ohio.

As usual, there were debates over both the players who got in and the ones who did not. A minority in football wonders if Long is truly Hall of Fame material, despite making it to eight Pro Bowl games. The former Giants middle linebacker Harry Carson, who is one of the best run stoppers in team history and who played in nine Pro Bowl games, was shut out for the seventh time.

The biggest argument centers on Lynn Swann and John Stallworth, the former Pittsburgh stars. Swann, in his 13th year of eligibility, played nine years with the Steelers, helping win four Super Bowls and catching 53 touchdowns. Stallworth, in his eighth year of eligibility, also contributed to four titles and had 63 touchdowns.

Few receivers have put up those kinds of numbers, especially on a team that had two great pass catchers, but still they continue to be shut out. Part of the reason may be the voters do not feel both should go in; since both players were close in ability, the votes are most likely being split.

There was never any doubt with Montana and Lott. Montana played through a variety of injuries, and despite his model-like appearance, he was one of the tougher quarterbacks to play the game. His best attributes were an incredibly accurate arm and coolness under pressure.

Montana's eight Pro Bowl games remain a record for quarterbacks, and several of his drives are legendary, especially the one in Super Bowl XXIII, when he led his team 92 yards in the final minutes to beat the Cincinnati Bengals. In all, Montana directed 31 fourth-quarter comebacks, and he holds six Super Bowl passing records, including 11 touchdowns and 357 passing yards. Lott was the epitome of a defensive back: he was able to cover the swiftest receiver while playing cornerback but could make a devastating hit from the safety spot. Lott made the Pro Bowl at cornerback as well as at free and strong safety.

No one was tougher. In the final game of the 1985 season, Lott damaged his left pinky. Doctors told Lott that he needed surgery immediately or he could lose the finger.

That operation would have required him to miss the coming playoff game against the Giants. So Lott made a decision that demonstrated how much football meant to him.

He told the doctors, ''I'm going to have to let that finger go.''

Part of it was amputated, and Lott played against the Giants.

Photo: Four of the five members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2000 gathered yesterday in Atlanta: from left, Ronnie Lott, Howie Long, Joe Montana and Dan Rooney. Dave Wilcox, a 49ers linebacker from 1964 to 1974, was also elected. (Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times)